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Dan Spelt was happy
to know that a small gadget such as a doorbell could solve an ongoing nighttime
challenge.

Dan is a part-time research
assistant at CanAssist with a passion for all things technical. “He loves
gadgets,” says Tanya Switucka, CanAssist's client relations manager, “so he's
really found the right place to work!”

Dan has cerebral
palsy and lives in his grandfather's basement suite. At night he relies on his
caregiver, Loveline, who stays in a bedroom down the hall from him. The only
system they were using in case of emergency was for Dan to call out.

“I would shout,”
Dan says, “but it didn't really work.”

Peter McGuire, an
electrical design specialist at CanAssist, was able to solve Dan's problem by
adapting a low-cost wireless doorbell kit.

“We like to be able
to modify products that are already out there,” Peter says, “and this made a
perfect calling system for Dan.”

The doorbell kit
comes equipped with two parts: a doorbell receiver, which makes the chime and
is plugged into the electrical outlet in the caregiver's room, and the doorbell
button, which is placed in Dan's room.

Because Dan can't
rely on his arms and hands to navigate his environment, Peter attached a large
button – about the size and shape of a hockey puck – to his bed's headboard so
that Dan can access it with the motion of his head. The “guts” of the doorbell,
as Peter calls them, along with the actual doorbell button, are encased in a
small black box and plugged into a nearby outlet.

When Dan hits the
button with his head, the encased doorbell button is electronically activated
and transmits a signal wirelessly to the receiver in the caregiver's room, causing
the receiver to chime.

The system is
unique in that it can be programmed to be activated by any pattern of button
pushes that are most suitable to the client's needs.

“Dan has to hit his
large button three times in the span of five seconds to activate it, which
means it is only activated when Dan really needs it,” says Peter.

For a gadget lover
like Dan, the more beeps and buttons, the better. After all, it was Dan who
requested that Peter program a beep to sound on his side to indicate a
successful transmission.